A Dustland Fairytale
by Darwin Tremor
Summary: Darwin Tremor was something before he was an assassin, he was a student at October High. He meets a new girl named Red and they slowly begin to find their new strengths together as they fall in love. But in a challenging environment like high school, many things happen.


It was another summer and another year for the privileged teenagers that attended October High, but it was Red Remaly's first time here. Red was her nickname, of course. Her family traveled from town to town and she moved from school to school, mostly because the teenagers in every town gave her trouble and her parents were never settled in staying in one place for very long. Today was her first day and she was nervous. She didn't have time to become acquainted with anyone her own age because most of her peers shunned her and Red always enjoyed being alone, or so she liked to believe.

Red was proud of being a Remaly, even though her parents weren't doctors or lawyers. They were ordained ministers and she constantly tried to learn everything she could from them, especially her father. He was a philosopher and he always had his nose buried in a book, much like his daughter. They would spend afternoons together on the front porch of whatever house they were living in at the time and he would speak to her about nature and the world, mesmerizing her to tears at the end of almost every conversation and she loved him for that. Red would spend time in the kitchen with her mother to learn different recipes and be criticized, like any daughter would be, but it was out of love.

She was a teenager in another new town, curious and afraid of having to introduce herself to new people, but it was something she was used to from traveling so much. She was a girl that would stand out regardless, even if she hid behind a book most of the time. Red's skin was white and she had a few patches of freckles here and there and her head was an ocean of wavy, red hair that ended at her shoulders with green eyes to make all of her colors stand out, but she never thought of herself as beautiful. Perhaps, it's because no one, but her mother and father, told her so.

When she was living in other towns, everyone at her old schools would bully her. Girls her own age would criticize the way she would dress because she wore old and faded clothes and as word got around the small towns, everyone treated her poorly because she wasn't rich like the rest of the people that attended the same school or lived in other neighborhoods. Many nights, Red would sit on the roof of this old house or that old house every year and she would block out the rest of the world and just stare at the stars. Regardless of the smile she put on or the eyes she never let anyone look into, she was lonely.

Today was the first day of school and Red woke up early. She put on a white skirt with an old green sweater and took a brush to her unruly red curls, staring at her awkward figure in the long mirror in the corner of her bedroom. She tries to think of something positive to tell herself, but she couldn't think of anything. She sat down on the edge of the bed and began to think that this was just another school full of people waiting to hurt her and make her cry and feel worthless. A tidal wave of fear began to rise inside of her, but she pushed the feeling down and stepped into the hallway to head down the steps to grab her two-year-old backpack, coins from the bowl and her small paper bag of lunch. Her parents were already at the town's church.

Outside, a yellow bus came to a stop near her house and she went outside, taking a deep breath as she found herself in the middle of two rows of seats. The wheels started to roll and she sank a little lower in her seat in the back, listening to the other teenagers talk among each other. Everyone was paired up, already familiar with each other and already friends. No one has any space in his or her life for her and Red was always tired of being treated like a third wheel. A few girls glance her way, whispering and Red premieres her famous smile. The small group looks away and they giggle, continuing to whisper. Red lowers her eyes and hugs her backpack against her chest, finding it hard to offer anyone else anymore smiles. Her body sways left and right on the bus and she looks out the window, resting her cheek against the glass.

The bus eventually pulls up to a big school with poles and railings and buildings painted blue and silver and she narrows her eyes, looking at what she hopes to be a place where she can finally graduate from and finish the rest of her years of early education without having to move again. The teenagers start to exit the bus, laughing and conversing and Red stays away, walking a little behind the crowd. She holds her breath when she walks by a group of boys and they do what all the other boys in her previous schools did; look right past her to stare at the girls with shorter skirts and tighter tops. Her curly red hair falls in front of her green eyes and she continues to walk, pulling out her schedule to find the right building.

Accidentally, Red bumps into someone. "_Whoa, watch where you're going._" The blonde girl snaps and Red dips her head lower, quickly moving away from her and her friends to avoid any kind of confrontation. She quietly sits on a stone bench, placing her bag of lunch down and she takes out a pen, underlining the names of her teachers and then a breeze snatches the paper from her hand. It twirls around in the air and she tries to grab it, hoping the wind dies down before she causes a spectacle on her first day on campus. The paper lands on the grass and when she turns to return back to her lunch, it's gone. Red lowers her eyes, wishing she could just vanish, but instead, she walks away from the onlookers and tries to head to class early before everyone else.

She angrily wipes her eyes, trying to get herself to stop crying and she blinks down at the blurry words on the piece of paper, walking up the stairs to reach her first class. She steps inside, hearing a few people laughing in the corner and she sits near the door, keeping her eyes down to avoid being noticed. Red listens to a few students converse with the teacher, someone they had the previous year before and she takes out a book from her backpack, opening it to lose herself in a story until the bell rings. Minutes go by and by degrees; the tears on her face slowly dry. The bell rings and people start to fill the classroom. The more people that walk in, the more nervous she gets. A few minutes later, the bell rings again and her first class officially begins.

An hour passes by and during that time, the teacher tells the class what's going to be expected of them and he hands out a syllabus and a schedule of the school's holidays and dance events, something that never interested Red because no one asked her and she couldn't afford a dress, anyway. Her first class finally ends, no friends were made and she was used to that, but she was still hopeful. The bell rings and she gathers her things, placing everything in her homemade folder and she tucks it into her backpack, heading out to vanish among the crowd. Red enters her next class and she recognizes a voice coming from a table in the corner, it's the blonde girl she accidentally bumped into earlier. The girl sees her and sighs, rolling her eyes. Her friends giggle and whisper among each other, glancing over at her to indicate whom they're talking about. "_What the hell are you looking at?_" The outspoken blonde snaps again and the teacher clears her throat, calling attention to the front of the class. Red sighs in relief, avoiding another confrontation and she keeps her eyes off the table and everyone else in her peripheral vision.

This class was just like the last. The teacher hands out a syllabus and she tells the class what the rules are and what would happen if they're broken. She asks general questions regarding the students to see what majority of them know and Red shyly raises her hand with the class, lowering it when the questions pass. The group of girls continues to whisper and the teacher snaps her fingers at them, catching their attention again. "_Macy, pay attention._" Macy Powell blinks her eyes at the teacher, playing innocent and she looks over at Red, loudly crumpling a paper bag under her desk to catch her attention. The teacher looks at her again, holding out her hand. "_Give me that._" Macy sighs in mock defeat and she crushes the bag in her hand, destroying whatever was left of Red's lunch and then she hands it to the teacher, who then tosses it into the trash. "_I'm sorry about that, Mrs. Roberts. I didn't mean to eat __junk__ food in class._" She laughs and Red lowers herself deeper into her seat, staring at the clock and wishing the time would go faster.

Finally, the bell rings and its recess. Red immediately shoves everything into her backpack and she quickly exits the classroom, hoping to get away from the group of girls. She moves against the crowd and she looks for the closest bathroom, rushing into it. The stalls are vacant and Red slips into the last one, locking the thin door behind her. It smells like Pin-Sol and cheap perfume and the toilet water is blue, everything is clean. She sits on the toilet and she stares at the door, trying not to break down. It's her first day and she's already made an enemy and an embarrassment of herself in front a few groups of people. Macy, a blonde girl with hazel eyes and strapped in a mini skirt with high heels. Red begins to think about the other people from her old schools and she starts to wonder what's wrong with her, why she's such a target. She leans against the stall and takes a few moments to relax, until she hears voices.

It's the group of girls from her classroom. "_Can you believe that new girl? God, she's such a freak._" Red bites her lip, listening to them and she closes her eyes, feeling the words cut her soul and whatever's left of her self-confidence. "_I hope I don't have her in any of my other classes. I don't want to puke._" The girls laugh in response and they begin to talk about the random boys in school and the upcoming dance as they exit the bathroom. Red opens the door and she walks over to face the mirror, turning the faucet off that they left on. She combs her fingers through her hair, trying to tame her curls and she looks into her own eyes, wondering what's so wrong with her. Red shakes the thought away and she slings her backpack over her shoulder, cautiously heading out of the bathroom to head to her next class.

She walks to the end of the building and steps into the classroom, sitting down at the table closest to the door. Luckily, no one's in there and she takes a look around. Tall brown cabinets are behind her and there are some rotating fans in this corner and that corner. The teacher walks in, a short pudgy woman with a friendly smile and Red hesitantly smiles back, taking out her book until the bell rings. The spine of the book creaks as she opens it and she looks over the top of it to watch the teacher write on the chalkboard. Ten minutes go by and the bell rings again. Red takes a deep breath and shuts the book, remaining silent like she did as soon as she stepped on the bus for school. She carefully watches the people come in, hoping that she doesn't see Macy and she doesn't. She breathes another sigh of relief and she slightly straightens her posture, feeling a little more confident and relaxed.

This class is the longest, the class between recess and lunch and Red takes out binder paper, taking notes on the very first chapter. She doodles a little leaf in her notebook and she draws a few stars in the corner. The teacher introduces herself as Miss. Stevens and she flashes another smile, the same one she showed Red earlier. Red responds to it again, a little bigger this time and the class continues on peacefully, until Red's stomach begins to growl. She taps her pen on the top of her folder, imagining her sandwich crushed at the bottom of the trash can in the other classroom and she sighs, waiting for the bell to ring again. The minutes go by, a little slower this time and the bell finally rings for everyone to go to lunch. Red puts everything away and she steps out of class, trying to figure out where to go next.

There's a building at the head of the wide grassy field where other students walk and she finds a table under a tree, taking a seat in the cool shade. She tries to ignore the way her stomach growls when she smells the cafeteria food and she takes out her book, trying to distract her mind. Surrounding her are groups of different people, the different cliques. There are the boys that are on the football team, the popular girls with rich parents, the cheerleaders, the darkly dressed boys and girls and the people that are the leaders of the school clubs, but there are a few people that are scattered around with their own groups. Despite her interesting book, Red looks up at the cafeteria and she tucks her hand into her pocket, trying to count the coins she grabbed from the bowl at home.

Somewhere off to the side, someone is watching her and she can feel it. She lowers her gaze to focus on her peripheral vision and she quickly glances to the side, seeing a stocky boy in a leather jacket looking at her. Red glances at him only long enough to see the blackness of his outfit and she closes her eyes for a moment, looking away to pray that he will leave her alone. She finds herself a few coins short for a meal and she drops the change back into her pocket, placing a hand on her stomach. Meanwhile, Red finally gathers up enough courage and she glances in his direction again, but the boy is gone. She sighs, the queasy feeling in her stomach vanishes, until she hears a voice to the right of her. "_Hey there, is this seat taken?_"

Red's green eyes widen and she turns to look up at the country boy voice speaking down to her. She suddenly comes face to face with a boy with an oddly shaved head, wearing a leather jacket, a wife-beater shirt underneath and the bluest eyes she's ever seen. She quickly gathers her things and moves to stand up. "_I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take your seat._" The mysterious boy grabs her book and she pauses, avoiding his eyes. "_I didn't ask you to leave. I asked you if this seat was taken._" Red bites her lower lip and he moves to sit across of her and she slowly sits back down. "_No, it's not taken._" The blue-eyed boy places a paper bag on the tabletop and he takes out a bottle of soda and a thick corned beef sandwich that's cut in half. She glances at it and he tosses a pile of napkins down on the table. He places the sandwich down on a napkin and picks up a half. "_I haven't seen you around here before and I know everyone here from the jocks to the geeks. What's your name?_" He takes a bite and opens his soda, waiting for an answer.

"_Red Remaly._" He chews slower, raising an eyebrow as he combs his wheat-colored hair away from his eyes. "_That your real name?_" She glances across the table at him, hesitant and she shakes her head. "_Heather's my real name. Red's my nickname. The hair, you know?_" He slowly nods his head and he pushes the other half of his sandwich closer to her with his soda. She looks at it, hiding the hunger in her eyes and she shakes her head again. "_Thank you, but I can't._" The boy stares at her and she shyly tugs the napkin closer to her side of the table and he takes another bite, wiping some mustard off of the side of his mouth. "_I was watchin' you count your change and I just took a shot in the dark._" He cocks his eyebrow. "_Bull's eye._" She clears her throat at his slight arrogance.

Still, her white cheeks glow pink and she clears her throat again, quietly chewing for a few moments. "_Aren't you afraid about what your friends are going to say?_" He chuckles, looking off to the side and he shrugs his shoulders, dusting his hand off on his jeans. "_You're new here, so I don't expect you to know my reputation yet._" Red looks at him, slightly intrigued, but his eyes make her lower hers, they're so blue. "_What kind of reputation do you have?_" He turns to the side, resting his back against the tree trunk and he crosses his ankles, watching everyone else in the school walk around and converse. "_I've been to detention over ten times, threw fireworks in the bathrooms, vandalized the cafeteria, set fire to the principle's chair and hacked into the school's system to clean my record, but the last one is somethin' that ain't common knowledge._"

He winks at her and her cheeks go from pink to bright red and she combs her hair in front of her shoulders to mask the new hue. He takes a drink of soda and he holds it out to her, slightly swaying it. "_Don't worry, I ain't gonna give you cooties._" She blinks her eyes and reaches out to take it, brushing her finger against his thumb. The bottle shakes in her hand and she takes a sip of the sweet, dark liquid. He watches her, unblinking. "_You got nice eyes._" A little soda travels down the wrong tube and she coughs into her hand. Red wipes her mouth, softly whispering with her head tilted down. "_Thank you._" He continues to stare at her and the bell rings. She looks over her shoulder and he gets to his feet, tossing the paper bag and napkins into the trash on the other side of the tree and then he takes the bottle from her hand again. "_Well, it was nice havin' lunch with you, Red. I wouldn't mind doin' it again tomorrow._"

Red awkwardly stands up from the bench and she flattens her skirt, ducking her head down. "_That would be nice._" She chews on her lip, trying to steady her gaze on him. "_You didn't even tell me your name._" He slowly smiles and walks over to her side of the table, watching the people head to their classes. "_Tremor. My name is Darwin Tremor._" He looks at her from the corner of his eye and he heads down the hill with the rest of the students. "_See you tomorrow, Red._" She stares at Darwin as he walks away, feeling a little lightheaded and she grabs her book and leaves to head to the final class of her first day.

The final class goes by quicker than she expected, but she really wasn't thinking about anything, except Darwin. A part of her told her to stop thinking about him because a boy like him would never be interested in a girl like her, but another part of her entertained the gesture he made during lunch. She began to feel that warm glow in her chest, but it was always followed by disappointment. She thought about it all the way back home on the bus, ignoring her other classmates and she entered her home, putting the papers she collected from school on the table for her parents to read over and sign. Red walks up to her bedroom and she closes the door, lying back on her bed. She thought about her day. She thought about those vicious girls, the teachers that would be giving her the education she needed and she thought about Darwin.

The late afternoon slowly began to turn into early night and she took a bath and read over her notes from class, taking a bite out of an apple. Though she was reading the notes, her mind continued to drift to the boy in the leather jacket, the troublemaker with a permanent stain on his record, until he wiped it out. She thought about her father and mother, how they would react to the news that she was befriended by such an unsettling example of what a teenager should be, but compared to the girls that tormented her, she would rather be more like him. She thought herself silly for continuing to entertain the notion that he might like her. Maybe he did it out of pity, which was something she often got and never asked for. Red's eyes began to grow heavier as she thought and she pulled the thin sheets over her, blinking at the stars shining out her window, until she eventually fell asleep with the half eaten apple in her hand.

She dreamed about her swing back at her other house, the one she would sway back and forth in when she would come out to watch the leaves change color day by day in the late afternoons when the sun would hunker down for the night near autumn. The maple leaves would flutter in the wind, turn into colors that reflected the sunrise, until they sank into a dark crimson red and orange like the sunset. Nature, in a way, was her boyfriend. She would dig her toes in the warm soil of the Earth, kick dirt on the grass to scatter the richness and to allow other things to grow and she would save worms from drowning in puddles when it rained. All the other teenagers thought she was weird and they would watch her from their windows, pointing and giggling, but she never cared. While they were safe in their homes drinking hot chocolate with blankets around their shoulders, she was out in a storm saving lives, even as little as they might have been. She was making a difference, while they did nothing but mock her. It made her feel useful, though, to save a life. During the night, she continued to dream more.

Later, as long hours passed, Red's eyes slowly opened to a bluebird hopping on a thin branch of a tree outside her window. She pushes her blanket back, kicking the soft apple with her foot that fell from her hand and she sleepily heads into the bathroom to tend to her morning duties. She uses the restroom, brushes her teeth, combs her hair and gathers her things. Her father knocks on the wall, calling her down to breakfast and she slowly took her place at the table as her mother placed a plate of chocolate chip pancakes in front of her with a glass of milk. Her father sat next to her, making his chair creak. He studied her expression and when he opened his lips to ask, "_Did you make any friends?_" her mother disapprovingly shook her head, leaving it unasked to avoid her any embarrassment of repeating the same answer.

They began to eat quietly and Red was wondering if she should tell them, but she felt worried that her hope and over eagerness would only be crushed, if it turned out to be untrue. She sank a little lower in her chair. "_I made a friend yesterday, I think._" Her parents looked at each other across the table and her father straightened his posture. "_That's great, Heather. What's her name?_" She softly bit her lip and picked her napkin to distract herself a little. "_His__ name is Darwin Tremor._" She could feel their eyes on her and it made her uncomfortable. Red continued, keeping her voice soft. "_A group of girls were mean to me and one of them ruined my lunch and he gave me half of his. He was nice to me._" Her mother, a cheerful looking woman with the enthusiasm of a young girl, touched the back of her hand. "_That sounds like a very strong and educated name, dear. He sounds like a very nice young man._" Slightly relieved, she straightens up a little and they continue to talk about the church and the promise of a better future together.

At the end of breakfast, her mother gave Red her lunch and off she went to the bus, keeping her eyes down like she had always done when she was surrounded by a group of unfamiliar people. Instead of staring out the window and dreading the return to the new school, she felt excited for the first time in her life at the idea. She thought about Darwin and she thought about her teachers and then she thought about Darwin again, staring out the window with a blooming smile as the bus drove down the road and off her street.


End file.
